University of Delaware Library- Special Collections DepartmentDefining Her Life: Advice Books for Women

Introduction to Advice Literature

Among the most common types of literature found on home
bookshelves, over the past three hundred years, has been the advice or
conduct book. Since the publication of Gervase Markham's The English-Housewife
in 1615, advice books for women have incorporated both philosophical and
practical guidance. These works not only taught the skills of household
management, cooking, gardening, etiquette, childcare, and family medical
care, but they also conveyed the appropriate role of a woman in society.
Intended for the inexperienced young woman, the books defined an ethical,
Christian-based code of behavior, with strict gender role definitions.

Prior to the nineteenth century, religious doctrine was
the major force for defining the "proper" roles for the sexes
and for assuring that individuals did not stray from their appointed behavior.
Early conduct literature was often written from the point of view of a
minister, a mother, or a father, giving its words authority beyond the
written text. A title such as Advice from a Lady of Quality to her
Children; In the Last Stage of a Lingering Illness (1778) conveys
a moral authority for the author's views. To emphasize the educational
nature of the material, the books often incorporated a dialog format with
questions and answers, or used narrative with a cast of characters whose
very names "Mrs. Kindheart," or "Mrs. Newly Rich"
were emblematic.

Although much of the early English conduct writing was aimed
at aristocratic readers, most of the later works, particularly in America,
were aimed at the middle-class woman. In addition, these later works addressed
the change in manners dictated by the creation of a democratic society
with no monarchy or aristocracy and included people from different cultures.
Many books such as How to Behave: A Pocket Manual of Republican Etiquette
(1857) made a point of distinguishing themselves from the European model.
Similarly, many books on domestic management were available to the woman
who did not have a staff of servants. Books such as Sarah Josepha Hale's
Mrs. Hale's Receipts for the Million (1857),a virtual encyclopedia
of domestic arts, contained over four thousand recipes, household hints,
and famous quotations.

As America changed from a predominantly agricultural society
to an industrialized one, writers of advice saw both opportunities and
dangers. As young people more frequently moved away from the protection
and moral influence of their families, conduct writers warned of the temptations
to which young women would be exposed to in the large cities. Not only
was their virtue at risk, but they could also be swayed from their primary
duty to become wife and mother. Books such as The Operative's Friend,
and Defence: or, Hints to Young Ladies, who are Dependent on their own
Exertions (1850) were aimed at young women working in textile factories.

After the Civil War, influenced by the beginnings of the
women's suffrage movement, some advice books moved from maintaining the
image of women as frail angelic creatures to promoting a more independent
outgoing woman. These included books on self-sufficiency, physical fitness,
broader educational choices, and dress reform. Popular magazines such
as Harper's Weekly highlighted active healthy-looking girls enjoying
skating and other sports. Although the writings were not feminist in the
modern sense, as they still prescribed a woman's sphere which focused
on the home, they advocated a more active, pragmatic approach to family
life.

A small number of authors wrote from a more overtly-feminist
perspective. The writer and social reformer Harriet Martineau wrote Our
Farm of Two Acres (1865), showing how a woman could be succeed at
subsistence farming. How Women Can Make Money, Married or Single
(1870) and What Can a Woman Do; or, Her Position in the Business and
Literary World (1893) discussed not only jobs open to women but also
working conditions and health concerns. Advice on women's health and contraception
was published, although it was not easily available to most women. Marie
Carmichael Stopes and Margaret Sanger overcame great odds to make birth
control information available.

As the early twentieth century brought the vote and other
freedoms to women, advice books continued to change with the times. Etiquette
experts such as Emily Post used a more light-hearted approach with titles
like How to Behave--Though a Débutante (1928) illustrated
with images of "flappers" by John Held, Jr. A few works, such
as the National Capital Code of Etiquette (1920), were written
for the well-to-do woman of color. Twentieth century media produced a
number of "superstars" of advice literature, from Amy Vanderbilt
and Dear Abby to Miss Manners and Martha Stewart. While incorporating
the modern issues of working mothers and cell phone etiquette, they often
continued the conservative bias toward White European models of behavior
and the promise of social mobility through "correct" behavior.

"Defining Her Life", which is entirely drawn from
the holding of the University of Delaware Library, provides a picture
of women's daily lives. It reminds the viewer of the ways in which women's
lives have changed, as well as the ways they have remained the same.